Corient Private Wealth LLC Buys 12,295 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its Valero Energy stake by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,295 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 235,035 shares worth about $38.3 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on VLO, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.59; several firms recently lifted targets, including UBS at $280.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.22 beating estimates and revenue rising 7% year over year, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share.

Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 235,035 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,295 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Valero Energy worth $38,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 685,506 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $111,543,000 after acquiring an additional 158,470 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $288,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,815 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $721,000. Finally, S Harris Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $435,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total value of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,453,629.80. This represents a 21.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of VLO opened at $236.50 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $245.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $265.61.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Valero Energy's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company's operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.

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